


Fireworks and Birthday Parades

by HappyLeech



Category: The Evil Within (Video Game)
Genre: Birthday, Canada Day, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-07-02
Updated: 2015-07-02
Packaged: 2018-04-07 07:06:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,253
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4254000
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HappyLeech/pseuds/HappyLeech
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Joseph Oda goes to Canada<br/>(Probably a little OOC and cheesy but idk)</p>
            </blockquote>





	Fireworks and Birthday Parades

**Author's Note:**

> OKAY SO IT'S NOT REALLY CANADA DAY ANYMORE BUT IDK  
> Also it's probably OOC and sloppily written but I'm doing Nanowrimo at the same time and it's really just a self indulgent fic  
> (Joe's in a parallel backwards version of the Crowsnest Pass, Alberta btw)

“See you tomorrow, Joseph.” 

Joseph looked up from his paperwork to Sebastian, and shook his head. 

“Nope. I’m off for the next three days. Heading up north for my birthday. Kidman, you’ll make sure he doesn’t do anything too stupid, right?” 

Sebastian pretended to be insulted, and the younger detective only sighed and shook her head.

“What, you don’t wanna party it up with us? I know the best places to get good birthday booze,” Sebastian said, but Joseph shook his head again.

“As much as I’d love to get black out drunk and wake up in a drunk tank, I’ll have to decline,” he replied, dryly, before shoving his papers in the desk. “I’ll see you on Saturday, Seb, Kidman.”

Once he was home, Joseph quickly changed from his dress slacks and vest to jeans and a t-shirt. 

‘Canada’s Birthday Boy’ was written on the front, and it may have been embarrassing to wear on his regular days off, but this was different. After only a few more moments in his home, Joseph was down the stairs, and back in his car. He was going to get the most out of his Canada Day.

“Reason for entering Canada, Mr…Oda?” 

Joseph grinned up at the border crossing agent.

“Going up for Canada Day. Can’t celebrate it as well down south.” He said, glad Krimson was as close to the border as it was. He didn’t think he could get the time off to drive up if it was further away. 

“Well, have fun Mr. Oda. Don’t get too crazy this weekend, now.”

As he was waved through, he immediately drove to the first information rest stop in the area. That would be the best place to get the info he needed.

“How can I help you, sir?” the teenager behind the desk asked, and Joseph shook his head. 

“No thank you. I’m just here to pick up some pamphlets.” 

There was a leaflet of papers on one of the desks, and he picked one up. It was just what he was looking for- a list of all the events going on for Canada Day in the area. 

“Do you know any good hotels around nearby?” he asked, but the teen just shrugged. 

“I dunno. There’s a bed and breakfast up the way I guess? In Blairemore.”

He’d take it.

The next day he was up bright and early. The T-shirt was back on his body, and he walked out of the B&B and down to the local grocery store.

“Happy Canada Day, sir,” the clerk said, ringing through a bag’s worth of canned food, and Joseph grinned. 

“Thanks! You too.”

From there, he walked down the main street until he reached a different grocery store, a pancake breakfast already in progress.

“Toonie or donation to the food bank?” the woman asked, and Joseph held up his bag.

 

“Donation this time,” he said, before he was given a paper plate and was directed to the line.  
He was eating when a family approached the table, taking up the last 3 chairs that were pushed in. As the parents were getting food for the three, a small boy clambered into his chair, and stared up at Joseph.

“Having a good Canada Day?” he asked, and the boy nodded.

“Yeah! After this, we’re gonna go to the parade, then to the parade in Colman! Then the parade in Belview too…” The little boy began to natter at Joseph all about the cool things they were going to do after breakfast, and he waved goodbye to them as he moved down the street.

“Parade’s going along this rout, right?” he asked a young woman standing outside a bakery, and she nodded. 

“Yeah! Do ya’ wanna tattoo?”

And so, twenty minutes later, Joseph was leaning up against a building, covered in temporary tattoos, watching a car decorated as a boat move down the street.

He’d always like parades, and this one was no different. Behind the mayor came floats for all the different schools, then business, then marching bands. Hell, this was even one of the ones where they still threw candy out to the kids.

And he’d be a liar if he didn’t admit to catching one or two pieces for himself.

As the parade was winding down, he returned to the bakery, and the woman who’d given him all the maple leaf tats, and grabbed a Canada smoothie to go.

“What makes it a Canada smoothie?” he asked, and she shrugged.

“It’s red, and there’s vanilla ice cream and some maple syrup in there too. The kid came up with it.” Another small boy waved at Joseph, and he waved back in response.

A drink in hand, Joseph returned to the B&B, climbed into his car, and joined the slow trail of cars moving to the next town. He wanted to see the world’s largest piggy bank before the next parade, although he suspected that there was one bigger in the world by now. 

The day as beginning to get warmer, and although he regretted not bringing shorts with him, he was content to stand in the shade, watching as the mounties road by, then the bagpipers behind them, dodging the horse pies.

Parade’d out, Joseph drove to the next info road stop there was, and was treated to cake. Cake, and more tattoos.

“I’m going to look like I got drunk and found a tattoo parlour with loose morals,” he joked to the guy who was effectively covering Joseph’s arms with temporary tattoos, and the guy snorted.

“Careful. I think there’s a few places around here that’ll tat a flag on your face if you go in shit faced. It’s hilarious, but awkward to explain at work.”

Joseph snorted. He could imagine the conversation already, Sebastian confused and laughing, Kidman giving him a disapproving look, but smiling all the same. 

The rest of the day was spent traveling between small towns, getting more and more tattoos, flags, pictures, and a few free bottles of beer, before he found himself back in Blairemore. The main street was filled with camping chairs, not a car in sight, and Joseph eased into one.

“When are the fireworks starting?” he asked no one in particular, and someone else yelled out “10 minutes, pal!”

Settling in, the entire town seemed to breath as one as the fireworks went off, ‘ooh’ing and ‘aw’ing together as the sky lit up with bright lights and loud booms. As the night winded down, someone in the crowd started to sing ‘Oh Canada’, and Joseph joined in.

America was where he lived now, but Canada? Canada was home.

\--

“…So, instead of getting black-out drunk with us, you went up north and got black-out drunk with some horny chick, huh?” Sebastian asked, early Saturday, and Joseph groaned. Now he was regretting covering himself in cheap tattoos.

“They’re not hickys, Seb. All I did was go up and watch some fireworks, like everyone’s going to do tonight.” He explained, but he could tell his partner didn’t believe him.

“You’re telling me you went to Canada for your 33rd birthday and for Canada Day, and didn’t get hammered?” he asked, and Joseph shrugged. That just wasn’t what he did, not on a national holiday.

“No. I’m saving that for tonight. That being said, we’ll need a different DD. I’m not staying sober to celebrate the 4th.”

He’d regret it in the morning, but that was okay. He was used to late nights and early mornings.


End file.
